The Zubeen Garg connection: Why this town in Bengal is planning a statue in his memory

Garg, 52, passed away on September 19 after reportedly experiencing breathing troubles while swimming during an outing on a yacht in Singapore. He was there for the North East India Festival, where he was also supposed to perform.

“Zubeen Garg represents the culture of North Eastern India, and Cooch Behar is a part of it. There is a social and special connection between Zubeen and Cooch Behar. He has performed here many times, last in 2018. He is respected and loved by the people here. We have decided to dedicate the Rash Mela to his memory and name the stage after him,” Rabindranath Ghosh, Chairman, Cooch Behar Municipality, told The Indian Express over the phone.

“There will be his pictures and cutouts everywhere during the fair. We will also contact his family and seek permission to erect a statue of him in Cooch Behar,” added Ghosh.

The ‘Rash Mela’ is a 20-day fair held every year in November and is attended by lakhs of people.

Garg’s rendition of Bhawaiya folk songs deepened his connection with Cooch Behar.

He sang the Bhawaiya folk song, ‘Kande Kanai Bajeya re Shanai’, in the music album, Moner Aina (mirror of the heart).

“He recorded the song in a studio in Guwahati in 2005. It was eight days after he recorded the ‘Ya Ali’ song for the Gangster movie. He told me the ‘Kande Kanai’ song would be a hit, and it turned out to be one just like he had said. The song was written and composed by me,” said Nazrul Islam, a renowned Bhawaiya artist who is also an assistant sub-inspector with the Bengal Police.

“Later, he invited me to his studio in Guwahati. He asked me to sing several Bhawaiya songs. He recorded some of my songs there, too.

“He called me when he came to Cooch Behar to perform… Not only me, people of Cooch Behar are in shock after his untimely death,” added Islam.

Bhawaiya is a popular folk music that originated in the Rangpur Division in Bangladesh, Cooch Behar district in Bengal and the undivided Goalpara district in Assam.

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